EAA AirVenture – July 26, 2016 – George Bye, CEO of Aero Electric Aircraft Corp. (AEAC), the company developing the solar-electric “Sun Flyer” flight trainer, today announced an additional collaboration with Spartan Education Group, which operates Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology and Redstone College.

Spartan will develop a course syllabus for airframe and powerplant (A&P) technicians to receive specialized training on the Sun Flyer. Along with Denver based Redstone College, which recently joined the Spartan Education Group family of schools, they collectively train over 8 percent of all newly certified A&P mechanics entering the workforce.

Spartan recently added five aircraft to their total and now holds deposits for 25 of the first Sun Flyers produced. Spartan and AEAC previously signed an agreement to collaboratively develop a complete training system for Sun Flyer.

Bye said his company is honored to once again align interests with Spartan on the development of the next-generation flight training aircraft. “Given the ambitious timeframe in which we are expecting to certify Sun Flyer, it is appropriate to begin thinking about service training for future A&P mechanics,” he said.

Peter H. Harris, CEO of Spartan Education Group, said “We have a vested interest in developing a great training system because we will be the first to include Sun Flyers in our fleet. This aligns with our quest to offer the most innovative and effective flight training program in the country.”

Sun Flyer is intended to be the first FAA-certified, U.S.-sponsored, practical, all-electric airplane to serve the flight training and general aviation markets. It features a remarkably low operating cost, low aircraft unit cost, low noise and the elimination of exhaust pollutants. AEAC projects the energy, or “fuel,” cost for Sun Flyer is only about $1 of electricity for each hour of flight, compared to $25 to $65 per hour for piston-engine leaded avgas.

The 2-seat proof of concept prototype for the Sun Flyer solar-electric flight is completing final integration and will soon begin power-on tests at its home station at Centennial Airport near Denver.

ABOUT AERO ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT CORP.
AEAC is developing Sun Flyer, the first FAA-certified U.S.-sponsored, practical, all-electric airplane serving general aviation and the aviation flight training market. For more information, go to www.SunFlyer.com.

ABOUT SPARTAN EDUCATION GROUP, LLC.
Spartan Education Group owns schools operating as Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology and Redstone College. Together, they represent six campuses in three markets and serve as the top-tier training in aviation and energy. Since 1928, Spartan has trained more than 130,000 pilots and technicians from over 60 countries and all 50 states. www.Spartan.edu